Friday, November 21, 2014

So, way back when, as one of my
earliest blog posts, I discussed how speeding
isn't necessary. I remember that I wrote that, but so much has happened in
the nearly 2 years since that post, that I had to go back and re-read it to
ensure that I didn't repeat myself. While revisiting that stop along the Road
Trip, it occurred to me that I really should go back and revisit my entire
journey. Especially right now, with the holidays looming and end-of-year
reminiscing, it just made sense that now is the time to look back. As the old
saying goes, “those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

I started this blog as a means of
chronicling my struggles and successes, my trials and triumphs as I embarked on
the (seemingly) overwhelming task of losing half my body weight. Now that I've
achieved that goal, I continue to find little things along the way that inspire
something down deep inside that I feel I should share. One such tidbit came
from an unexpected source. As some of you know, my story was featured on CNN,
and since then, I have been blessed with many opportunities, including being
interviewed by FitWoman.com
and even appearing on a segment of “The
Doctors.” As it turns out, the unexpected source of inspiration came when
someone from CNN reached out and asked if I would be interested in doing a
follow up “Where Are They Now?” type story for January. It would coincide with
people making New Year’s Resolutions.I
sent back a quick response indicating that I would love to be a part of the New
Year’s Resolution story and jotted down a quick piece of advice that I would
offer someone making such a resolution: It’s not a resolution for a New Year,
it’s a resolution for a New You. As soon as those words were staring back at
me, I knew I had to translate that idea into a stop along my Road Trip.

As
you are driving along the interstate, it is tempting to want to hang out in the
far left lane– the fast lane, as it were– in order to get where you’re going as
fast as you can. It seems like a logical thought, but you can go too fast. When
I talk about a New You Resolution, what I really mean is that thinking about
the diet as a temporary activity will more than likely end in disappointment. For
someone to get the desiredresults, it takes
more than a casual “it’s a new year, I should lose some weight” passing
thought. It takes a core desire to change what you've done your entire life and
try something new. After all, if you want to be something you've never been,
you have to do something you've never done. Overhauling your mind and body is
not something to speed through. It took me 2 ½ years to hit goal and I learned
a lot about myself during that time. If I had stayed in the left lane, pedal to
the metal, there is no doubt I would have lost the weight faster, but I also
may have gotten distracted and lost focus of the final goal. I’m not saying I wouldn't have been successful, but slowing down and appreciating the changes
that I made helped me change old habits and create new ones. No one is timing
you on your progress, so there is no need to rush through it. People often want instant gratification, but proper and
healthy weight loss is not something that can be, nor should be, done
overnight. It’s a long slow journey, but it is worth every mile!

Sunday, November 9, 2014

OK, so you know when you’re cruising along, hitting traffic
lights with ease, there are minimal cars on the road and your road trip seems
to be going along swimmingly. And then, all of the sudden, a traffic jam of
biblical proportions halts you in your tracks. Yeah, that happens, trust me.

As much as I’d like to believe it, this journey can’t all be
about sunshine and rainbows. At some point, the storm clouds are going to roll
in and there is going to be a serious traffic delay that causes me to rethink whether
or not I should stay the course. Now, depending on when this stall takes place will
dictate how much of an introspective conversation I will need to have. If the
delay is merely miles outside of my destination, I think it’s a no-brainer that
a few extra minutes sitting in traffic is no big deal. However, if there is a
major road closure right as I’m starting out? Well, then it’s time for me to
seriously analyze what I want to accomplish.

Throughout this journey, I really don’t know if I have made
it clear that this task is not easy. That was the impetus behind this blog.
Knowing it’s not easy, knowing that it takes a little something extra to
achieve was why I wanted to write everything down and put my story out there.
There were plenty of times I wanted to quit and maybe plenty of times that I
almost did, but I realized that the quitting behavior is what I’d always done.
And isn't the clinical definition of insanity doing the same thing over and
over while expecting a different result? If you want something you've never
had, you must choose to do something you've never done. To me, that is the
polar opposite of insanity.

Deciding to quit is nothing new for people. Deciding to
succeed, there’s where we tread into unexplored territory. So, when you come up
on your traffic jam, decide if you will take the same, tired way back home or
venture on the road less travelled. The fork in the road is before you, and it is
up to you to decide which way is going to take you to your ultimate
destination.